The Big 12 added four more schools in 2024 year after losing Texas and Oklahoma to the SEC. It also added four other schools from the American Athletic and Mountain West conferences in 2023.
With a total of 16 members as the Big 12 enters the 2024-25 college football season, the conference looks a whole lot different these days.
Let's take a look at all the new members, how the schedule works and how all the teams in the Big 12 stack up this year.
Big 12 members, schedule, tie-breakers and more
- Current Big 12 membership
- Arizona Wildcats
- Arizona State Sun Devils
- Colorado Buffaloes
- Utah Utes
- How the Big 12 schedule works
- Big 12 Conference championship game tie-breakers
- Big 12 head coaches
- Big 12 in the rankings
School | Year joined | Home stadium |
|---|---|---|
Arizona | 2024 | Arizona Stadium, Tucson, AZ |
Arizona State | 2024 | Mountain America Stadium, Tempe, AZ |
Baylor | 1996 | McLane Stadium, Waco, TX |
BYU | 2023 | LaVell Edwards Stadium, Provo, UT |
Central Florida | 2023 | Camping World Stadium, Orlando, FL |
Cincinnati | 2023 | Nippert Stadium, Cincinnati, OH |
Colorado | 2024 (original member in 1996, left for Pac-12 in 2010) | Folsom Field, Boulder, CO |
Houston | 2023 | TDECU Stadium, Houston, TX |
Iowa State | 1996 | Jack Trice Stadium, Ames, IA |
Kansas | 1996 | David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium, Lawrence, KS |
Kansas State | 1996 | Bill Snyder Family Stadium, Manhattan, KS |
Oklahoma State | 1996 | Boone Pickens Stadium, Stillwater, OK |
TCU | 2012 | Amon G. Carter Stadium, Fort Worth, TX |
Texas Tech | 1996 | Jones AT&T Stadium, Lubbock, TX |
Utah | 2024 | Rice-Eccles Stadium, Salt Lake City, UT |
West Virginia | 2012 | Milan Puskar Stadium, Morgantown, WV |
New Big 12 members
1. Arizona Wildcats
The University of Arizona was a member of the Pac-12 Conference from 1978-2023 and joined the Big 12 officially in August 2024. The Wildcats went 10-3 last season and finished third in the Pac-12, earning the No. 11 ranking in the final Associated Press poll.
Arizona State University was a member of the Pac-12 Conference from 1978-2023, joining the Big 12 in August 2024. The Sun Devils finished 3-9 last season and 11th in the Pac-12.
3. Colorado Buffaloes
Colorado University was an original member of the Big Eight Conference (re-branded the Big 12 in 1996) in 1948, leaving for the Pac-12 in 2010. The Buffaloes rejoined the Big 12 in August 2024 after finishing 4-8 and last in the Pac-12 last season.
The University of Utah was a member of the Pac-12 Conference from 2011-23, having previously left the Mountain West Conference where it had resided since 1999. The Utes joined the Big 12 in August 2024 after going 8-5 and finishing fifth in the Pac-12 last year.
Former Big 12 members
School | Big 12 tenure | Where are they now? |
|---|---|---|
Missouri Tigers | 1996-2011 | SEC |
Nebraska Cornhuskers | 1996-2010 | Big Ten |
Oklahoma Sooners | 1996-2023 | SEC |
Texas A&M | 1996-2011 | SEC |
Texas Longhorns | 1996-2023 | SEC |
Big 12 division history
The Big 12 Conference was broken into two divisions (North/South) from 1996-2010. Starting with the 2011 season, divisions were eliminated and teams played a total of 11 regular season games (three non-conference and eight conference opponents).
How the Big 12 schedule works
Scheduling rules
The Big 12 introduced what it calls a "football scheduling matrix" for the 2024-27 seasons, according to the conference website. Over the course of the four seasons each team will play one another at least once home and away.
The conference says it prioritized "geography, historic matchups and rivalries as well as competitive balance" when designing the system.
Upcoming Big 12 schedules
The official 2⃣0⃣2⃣4⃣ Big 12 football schedule 🗓️ pic.twitter.com/9NiF0hJsEy
— Big 12 Conference (@Big12Conference) January 30, 2024
The top two teams after finishing the regular season will participate in the Big 12 Championship game at AT&T Stadium in Dallas, TX on Dec. 7, 2024.
The winner of the head-to-head between the top two teams will be named the home team and the loser the visiting team. If no head-to-head occurred during the regular season or it resulted in a tie, then the following tie-breakers will be applied. These also apply in the event of a two-team tie for second place.
- Win percentage against the next highest placed common opponent in the standings
- Win percentage against all common conference opponents
- Combined win percentage in conference games of conference opponents
- Total number of wins in a 12-game season
- Highest ranking by SportSource Analytics following the lastweekend of regular-season games
- Coin toss
Big 12 head coaches
School | Coach | Tenure |
|---|---|---|
Arizona | Brent Brennan | 2024-present |
Arizona State | Kenny Dillingham | 2023-present |
Baylor | Dave Aranda | 2020-present |
BYU | Kalani Sitake | 2015-present |
Central Florida | Gus Malzahn | 2021-present |
Cincinnati | Scott Satterfield | 2023-present |
Colorado | Deion Sanders | 2023-present |
Houston | Willie Fritz | 2023-present |
Iowa State | Matt Campbell | 2016-present |
Kansas | Lance Leipold | 2021-present |
Kansas State | Chris Kleiman | 2018-present |
Oklahoma State | Mike Gundy | 2005-present |
TCU | Sonny Dykes | 2021-present |
Texas Tech | Joey McGuire | 2022-present |
Utah | Kyle Whittingham | 2005-present |
West Virginia | Neal Brown | 2019-present |
New Big 12 head coaches
Brent Brennan, Arizona:
Brennan was the head coach of San Jose State from 2017-23, posting a 34-48 record in that span and making three bowl game appearances. He will make his debut with the Wildcats on Aug. 31 as they host New Mexico in their season opener.
Former Big 12 head coaches
Jedd Fisch, Arizona (2021-23)
Fisch departed Arizona for the national champion runner-up Washington Huskies in January. He posted a 16-21 record during his tenure in Tucson, winning the Alamo Bowl in his final year and finishing third in the Pac-12 (No. 11 nationally).
Steve Sarkisian, Texas (2021-present)
Sarkisian and the Longhorns officially departed the Big 12 for the SEC in August. The fourth-year head coach in Austin left the conference with a 25-14 record, claiming the title in 2023 and participating in the College Football Playoff as the No. 3 seed.
Brent Venables, Oklahoma (2021-present)
Venables and the Sooners followed Texas to the SEC in August. The third-year head coach in Norman left the conference with a 16-10 record and no championship game appearances.
Preseason AP poll
No. 12 Utah
No. 17 Oklahoma State
No. 18 Kansas State
No. 21 Arizona
No. 22 Kansas
Preseason coaches poll
No. 13 Utah
No. 17 Kansas State
No. 18 Oklahoma State
No. 21 Arizona
No. 24 Kansas
Big 12 Conference preseason media poll
Team | Votes (first place votes) |
|---|---|
1. Utah | 906 (20) |
2. Kansas State | 889 (19) |
3. Oklahoma State | 829 (14) |
4. Kansas | 772 (5) |
5. Arizona | 762 (3) |
6. Iowa State | 661 |
7. West Virginia | 581 |
8. Central Florida | 551 |
9. Texas Tech | 532 |
10. TCU | 436 |
11. Colorado | 400 |
12. Baylor | 268 |
13. BYU | 215 |
14. Cincinnati | 196 |
15. Houston | 157 |
16. Arizona State | 141 |
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